Rocker Mitch Ryder OK after head-on crash

Detroit rock legend Mitch Ryder is still rockin’ and rollin’ after surviving a head-on crash Friday in Lyon Township.

Oakland County Sheriff’s Office deputies with the Lyon Township substation said Ryder, 67, was in a crash that happened at 12:07 a.m. on Kent Lake Road just north of Silver Lake Road in Lyon Township.

Deputies said a 21-year-old South Lyon man was driving a pickup truck north on Kent Lake Road. The driver told deputies he was reaching to adjust his radio when it veered left of center and ran into the Buick Enclave driven by Ryder, who lives in South Lyon.

Ryder’s wife, Megan, received minor injuries in the accident and was transported to a local hospital and has since been released. A 58-year-old woman passenger in Ryder’s vehicle wasn’t injured, deputies said.

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Sheriff’s investigators noted the truck driver had been drinking and they are awaiting results of a blood draw taken that evening at Novi’s Providence Hospital.

Both vehicles sustained medium damage, deputies reported. The pickup was towed from the scene.

The investigation has been turned over to the Sheriff’s Alcohol Enforcement Unit.

Ryder’s own biography notes the rocker and his band, The Detroit Wheels, “served as the musical bridge between the Motown soul factory and the high energy, take no prisoners rock ‘n’ roll that would roar out of Detroit via Iggy & The Stooges, MC5, Ted Nugent and Bob Seger.”

In late 1965, the band’s “Jenny Take A Ride!” climbed to No. 10. Next came “Little Latin Lupe Lu.” Then in 1966, Ryder and the band exploded with the medley “Devil With A Blue Dress On/Good Golly Miss Molly,” reaching No. 4 on the charts. In 1967, “Sock It To Me-Baby!” became Ryder’s final Top 10 single.

The Hamtramck-born Ryder continues to record and performs regularly. Visit www.mitchryder.net.

Contact Carol Hopkins at 248-745-4645 or carol.hopkins@oakpress.com. Follow her on Twitter @OPCarolHopkins.